Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors

Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors were formulated to offer painters an artists' grade oil color that dries quickly, yet offers the adhesion of a ground, making it excellent as a base layer or for underpainting techniques.

FastMatte's alkyd resin-based binder allows it to dry more quickly naturally, creating a receptive, matte surface for subsequent layers. All colors except Titanium White and Cadmium colors are transparent or semi-transparent in nature, creating the tonal range so important for underpainting techniques.

When applied in thinly painted layers, FastMatte dries in approximately 18 hours. This drying rate allows painters to work throughout a painting session without the oil paints drying on the palette, while at the same time creating a dry surface for the next painting session.

To make FastMatte more fluid for underpainting techniques, thin it with a 50/50 mixture of Gamblin Galkyd Painting Medium and Gamblin Gamsol Odorless Mineral Spirits. Moderate use of this mixture ensures the adhesion of thinner paint applications while maintaining the matte surface quality.

For a gloss surface, apply a thin glaze or a coat of Gamblin Gamvar Picture Varnish.

Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oils are completely compatible with other artists' grade oil colors, and speed up their drying time based on the proportion used. FastMatte is also compatible with Gamblin's alkyd-based Galkyd painting mediums. Use with these mediums, however, increases the gloss level of the FastMatte Colors.

This stuff is great for doing full-valued underpaintings, using the white mixed with raw umber. You can't achieve the light values with earth colors alone. It IS stiff, so I add a drop of grumbacher medium 1 to get it flowing. I was ready to write a negative review at first, because the first half of the tube was so stiff that it was unworkable,with the little balls pilling up. Then it got better. I guess it was a problem with the mixture ratio. Anyhow, it is working great now. It has less odor and is creamier than Griffin alkyds. My only complaint is the tubes are thin compared to other brands. More paint please!

it does what is advertised: dries faster. but it is denser and does not wet the surface as well as regular oils do. to correct this, you can add gel, but it takes longer to dry in same proportion as the gel. i got better results adding solvent like turpentine in small amounts. then it dries fast. it is a matter of experimenting and getting used to it, but it is a good alternative for getting a paint finished in less time

I add these alkyd colors to my regular colors to get everything to dry faster. It's really nice not to have to wait weeks for the slower colors to dry and the quality is very good. I love Gamblin paints. A solid value. I've been painting for 25 years and have tried most oil paint brands, but I have settled on Gamblin.

The price of this product compared to similar, competitive alternatives is:

Overpriced

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

Merchant response: A response from Scott Gellatly at Gamblin: Sure, if a painter wanted very thin washes to start a painting, they could use oil paint thinned with OMS. However, this technique is very limiting and does not allow painters to fully develop under-paintings with saturated color and delineated handling of the painting’s subject matter. The FastMatte colors allow painters to create under-paintings with an intense color palette that far surpasses earth colors traditionally used for u/p techniques – all with the drying time that allows painters to take their painting further, faster.

Great for underpainting. Some issues with smoothness... I experienced some tiny balls of the paint when using bristles brushes. I softened these with a synthetic fan brush. I am excited about these and hope Gamblin adds a few more colors to the line. A cerulean blue would be welcomed, a dioxizine violet and cad orange would also be nice, And umbers both raw and burnt.

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